


Moana, stand tall

by paperjamBipper



Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Gen, This is completely platonic, being told to calm down when you're excited is the easiest way to instantly kill your mood, excessive references to the more outtake, he will Not Allow moana to talk about herself that way, maui probably hates seeing people being self-depricating, moana is a very excited child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 14:13:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9610979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperjamBipper/pseuds/paperjamBipper
Summary: She seems to have taken all the excitement and enthusiasm she had earlier and buried it deep within herself. And the way she did it made it seem so natural, like this wasn't the first time she's had to force herself to do it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't been able to stop listening to the More outtake. It's literally the only thing I've been listening to all weekend. I love thinking about it in the final context of the movie, too. Because Moana spends her entire life being told to slow down and that she gets too excited by everyone around her in her village.
> 
> But then she meets Maui. And even though Maui makes fun of her a lot, and tries to discourage her from learning to wayfind, he never tells her that she's being too energetic or that she's getting in his way. In fact, as the movie goes on, he seems to ENCOURAGE her excitement and her enthusiasm. It can be seen as early as the scene where she's watching the Kakamora boat sink where she's yelling and cheering and jumping around where just sort of sits and watches her (while he's trying UNBELIEVABLY hard not to smile, nonetheless) before he says anything to her.

Maui probably should’ve thought of an excuse _before_ touching down on this island.

Really, he should’ve. Because now he’s just wandering the far side of the beach of what seems to be an incredibly active village. Even the beach ahead of him is crowded with groups of fisherman pulling in and out of the sea, and he’s not entirely sure if he wants to face anyone just yet in case they decide to bombard him with all sorts of ‘what brings you here?’ or ‘with what do we owe the pleasure of your presence?’ sort of questions, because he honest to the gods doesn’t really have an excuse for being here.

He had just been flying around in hawk form looking for something to entertain himself with or a monster to pick a fight with when he came across this island. One tall mountain jutted from its center, and other smaller hills broke off from it. In the valley he saw rows upon rows of _fales_ , and a large _fale tele_ in the center blocked off by what appeared to be a blanket of _tapa cloths._ Suddenly, as he was flying over it, some force he couldn’t describe, a sort of voice inside him told him to land. So he did.

It’s a beautiful island. He can see why its people are so active. With so much thick forestry its members must never run out of things to do and make. But he still can’t seem to understand _why_ that voice had called him to land here. Confused, Maui drops his hook to his side and lets it drag behind him in the sand as he walks. He turns his attention to the large group of people his feet seem to be dragging him towards and sighs. Maybe they won’t ask. Maybe they won’t even notice he’s there because they’re so preoccupied with what they’re doing.

 _Ha, fat chance,_ he remembers from past experiences, and shakes his head in amusement as his feet seem to continue to have a mind of their own.

_I’m here because I thought I heard someone call for help, I’m here because I wanted to see how the whole ‘recovering from the great darkness’ thing was going, I wanted to-_

“Maui!” a familiar voice suddenly calls out, interrupting his trying to dig around for a valid excuse for his presence. Turning his head, he sees the outline of a girl sprinting down from the center of the village towards him. She’s got a colorful headdress on, and for a moment Maui’s not sure he recognizes who she is. But in her excitement, she pulls off the headdress and tosses it to somebody else, and a big pile of undoubtedly familiar curly hair takes its place.

Moana. It’s Moana.

In his own excitement, Maui’s hook slips from his hand and lands in the sand with a hard _thud_ as Maui sprints forward to meet her at a halfway point. The smile on Moana’s face only growing wider, she barrels herself into him so roughly it nearly tips him over.

“I can’t believe you’re actually here!” Moana beams as they pull away from their hug.  “I’ve missed you so much!” She says, punching him in the arm playfully.

“Oh, so you _do_ think about me when I’m not around.” Maui says, rubbing at where she had punched him. “I thought I _wasn’t_ your hero” He says smugly, crossing his arms.

“Well, it’s hard not to when you spent three whole months breathing down my neck” She says, just as smugly, and Maui’s smile fades into a glare for a brief moment.

“If I hadn’t been, you and your people couldn’t go on their precious voyages”

“And you’d still be stuck on that little island” She reminds him, and Maui’s glare returns. “Speaking of island, actually,” Moana says, casting a glance towards her village. “Come on, there’s so much I want to show you!” She says, and begins to bounce on her feet excitedly as she grabs at his arm. Before Maui can open his mouth to protest, Moana begins to drag him into the village. They only walk, Maui would guess, a hundred steps before Moana comes to her first stop in front of a large _fale._

“This,” she says, gesturing to it with her head. “Is my _fale._ ” She says, and smiles excitedly as she tugs him towards it. “Come in, come in” She insists excitedly, and Moana drags him inside so quickly he doesn’t have the time to duck from the low entrance. Inside, scattered all over the place is a collection of things Maui can only assume she collected from her voyages. Seashells, trinkets, wooden carvings, and a small collection of shiny jewelry even Tamatoa would be jealous of are just a few examples among the large collection she’s seemed to gather for herself in the few weeks (months?) it’s been since he last saw her. Leaning on the wall right beside her sleeping mat is an oar.

Seeing Maui eye it, Moana walks over to it and picks it up. “Recognize this?” She asks, walking back over to his side. “When we started taking our ancestor’s canoes out, my people offered me a new oar, right? You wanna know what I said to that?” She asks, and just as Maui opens his mouth to respond, she flips the oar over. Carved right into the center of the canoe is the autograph he half-heartedly signed into it. “I’ve got a better one!” She deepens her voice to mock his. He opens his mouth to speak, but when realization hits him, he closes it. She laughs at this, and quickly walks back over to her sleeping mat to lean her oar against it.

“Come on!” She says, and takes her place back at his side as she begins to tug at his arm. There’s so much more I want to show you!” She says, and Maui can’t help but roll his eyes playfully as Moana drags him back out of her _fale._ As she drags him to wherever it is she wants to show him next, Maui takes the short opportunity to look around at the rest of the village. Everyone around them seems calmly invested in what they’re doing, and even the small groups of children he sees running around as they play don’t seem to have half the energy Moana does right now. He smiles, huffing a quiet laugh out of his nose. When Moana comes to a stop, he turns his attention back to what’s in front of him. It’s the _fale tele_ he had seen from the sky earlier.

“This is the _fale tele_ where we gather to hear stories”, she says, and steps inside. “And where _you’ll_ be telling some later tonight” she says, and points a finger at him. “Chief’s orders” she says, and mockingly stands up on her tiptoes and puffs out her chest to make herself look bigger. “That’s not all, though. Watch this” She says, and walks to a post just near the _fale tele_ ’s center. She whacks at it with her elbow, and one by one, various _tapa cloths_ begin to unfold and shroud them both in darkness. Maui squints as she turns to look at them, and his attention catches on what appears to be a wildly inaccurate depiction of a large crab holding its claws up in the air towards an even poorer depiction of Te Fiti’s heart.

“No way,” He says, shaking his head as he laughs. “Is that supposed to be Tamatoa?” He asks, pointing to it, and Moana snorts a laugh as she approaches it.

“Is it?” She asks, tilting her head. “I don’t think I ever would’ve connected the two if you hadn’t said that”

“I guess you were right about calling him a ‘legend’ after all, then” Maui says, laughing. “Just not exactly the kind of legend he probably had in mind”

“Ooh,” Moana says, pretending to sound hurt. “Bad news for him, then. I almost feel bad for him” She mutters sarcastically, and then she works on rolling the cloth back up. Moana steps outside to look around, and Maui watches her disappear for a short moment before she returns with a large grin on her face.

“You wanna see the best part of the island?” She beams as she re-approaches him, and Maui rolls his eyes playfully as he offers his arm out to her. She quickly grabs it and drags him out of the _fale tele._ She then leads him to the tall mountain he had seen when he was first soaring over the island and up a long, twisted trail to the top. At the peak, there’s a large stack of stones with a bright pink seashell sitting on top. Moana lets go of his arm, and Maui walks over to the stack to inspect it. He runs a hand along some of the rough stones, but before he can inspect any further, Moana whistles to him.

“Over here” she says, and sits down. Taking one last glance at the stones, Maui walks to her side and sits down. From where they’re sitting, he can see what seems like the entire ocean wrapping itself around the island.

“Killer view, huh?” Moana asks. “Sometimes when I’m sitting up here, I feel like I can just reach out and touch the ocean” She says, and stretches her hands out like she’s grabbing at it. “What I wouldn’t give to be out there right now”

“What’s stopping you, then?” Maui asks, and Moana turns to look at him.

“Huh?”

“Kid, look around you” Maui says, and gestures down to the village. “They look like they’re doing fine to me. I don’t think anyone would mind if you left for a few hours without telling anyone” He says, and stands. “Not to mention I’ve been dying to get out on the water again myself” He says, and next to him, Moana scrambles to her feet.

“Maui,” she says, clearly trying to prevent a large grin from spreading across her face. “Don’t joke with me like that, are you serious?” She asks, and Maui smiles.

“Completely serious. Whaddya say, Chosen One, you wanna go take a boat out for a few hours?” Maui asks, and Moana’s entire face lights up in a huge, excited smile.

“Um, YES?” she nearly shouts, and turns around to head back down to the water. “Come on!” She says to him, gesturing her head to the village below. “We don’t have any time to lose” she shouts, and without waiting for him, she begins to sprint down to the water, and Maui lets out a shocked _hey_ as he runs after her. It’s amazing for someone half his size to be able to run as fast as she can, and he’s having trouble keeping up with her.

But this is _Moana,_ and she’s running to the _sea,_ so Maui doesn’t expect anything less from her. He watches as she pulls a large leaf from a low hanging palm tree, and she swings it around another to zip line herself closer to the sea. Rolling his eyes, and only now just remembering where he left his hook, he copies her and lands not-so-graciously on his face rather than on his feet like he would’ve liked.

Moana spins when she hears him crash into the ground, and turns to help him to his feet. “We’re so close, come on!” She says, and as they’re running down to the water, Moana takes a sudden sharp turn. She runs to her _fale,_ and appears outside with her oar in her hand seconds later. When they get down to the beach, Maui runs to where he had dropped his hook and picks it up before meeting back up with Moana.

“So,” he says, placing the hook end down in the sand to lean on it. “Which boat are we stealing?” He asks, and Moana turns and gestures to a boat already halfway in the water. Painted across the sail is the large red swirl he’d grown accustomed to looking at those three months he accompanied her to Te Fiti.

“Mine,” she says smugly, and races towards it. Maui follows close behind, and helps her push the boat the rest of the way into the water before they both jump on board. The weight of both of them jumping on causes the boat to rock violently, and a large splash of water lands on the deck. Clearly still overcome with excitement, Moana rushes forward and nearly slips as she climbs the mast to open the sail.

“Okay, Moana” Maui says teasingly. “Maybe you should calm down a little bit before you do anything else. I’m afraid you might rip the sail right in half” He says, and instead of shooting him a snide remark or dropping her oar on his head like he expects, Moana freezes.

“Sorry, sorry!” she calls down to him sheepishly, and she jumps down from the top of the mast. The way she uncharacteristically folds her arms behind her back is uncomfortable enough to make Maui wince. “I’m always in somebody’s way” She says, more to herself than to him, but says it loud enough for him to hear. Rather than returning to the controls, she walks to the edge of the boat and sits herself down. She seems to have taken all the excitement she had earlier and buried it deep within herself, and the way she did it so _naturally,_ like this _wasn’t the first time she had to do it,_ causes Maui to send a glance back at her village. Somewhere within him, a bit of anger seems to bubble at the thought that they would say anything to her that would make her clam up so easily, and he has to push it aside as he turns back to her.

“Moana, do they stuff like that to you? That you just get in their way?”

“No,” Moana says, and picks up a stray stone that had been sitting on the boat deck. “But it’s always ‘Moana slow down’, or ‘Moana dream small’ or ‘Moana don’t drown” She says, and chucks the stone as hard as she can into the ocean. “That’s all they ever seem to say.” She says, and glances out at the horizon. “So what’s the point of getting excited about something if someone’s just going to shut you down for it?” She asks, and Maui frowns.

“Moana, you know I was only kidding, right?” He asks, and there’s a short pause.

“But _they_ aren’t” Moana says eventually, and turns her head towards the village. “They all expect me to act a certain way just because I’m the daughter of the chief” She says, and Maui follows her gaze. After a short moment, Moana returns her gaze to the sea. Maui continues to look out at the village, and his frown sours.

“Moana, that’s ridiculous” He says, and Moana turns to face him.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you shouldn’t have to just bury your feelings down like that” Maui says, and Moana laughs bitterly.

“You’re telling me” she says, and Maui shakes his head.

“No, I mean, that’s who you are, Moana” He says, and for a moment she tenses up like he had just touched a sore spot. “You’re this loud, excited child...thing” He says, scratching his head confusingly, and Moana snorts a quiet laugh as she turns back to face him. “If you want to run around the island like you’re crazy or yell at someone for a solid fifteen minutes about how much you want to be out on the water, you should be able to” He says, and Moana laughs.

“I’m not _that_ obnoxious” She says, and Maui rolls his eyes.

“Witnessed you doing both of those things myself, Curly. Today alone, too” Maui says. Moana opens her mouth to argue, but then closes it just seconds later and pouts at him.

“It wasn’t fifteen minutes” She says, and points at him. “Besides,” She says as she stands. “I wasn’t even the one who suggested taking a boat out in the first place. That was you”

“But you were the one who brought up the ocean at all in the first place” Maui replies, and Moana throws her arms up in the air as she groans. It was a first for her to lose an argument against him like this.

“My point is,” Maui cuts in before she can take the argument anywhere further. “That’s still _you_ , Moana. Nobody gets as worked up about the ocean more than the Chosen One herself” He says, and looks out at the ocean. “They may tell you you should calm down, but you wanna know what I think?” He asks. “I think you should stand tall. Be proud of who you are” He says, and there’s a long moment of silence. Moana looks back out at the water and considers his words. He’s right. Because of who she is, who she _truly_ is, _she_ ventured out and restored the heart of Te Fiti, and _she_ restored her people’s love for wayfinding and voyaging. She saved her people, and she saved the world, and this was all because she let her passion and enthusiasm shine through rather than burying it down like she had been growing up her entire life being told to.

“You know what?” She asks, and whips her head back to look at him. “You’re right” She says, and that passionate, excited smile returns to her face. “But you still promised we’d take her out for a few hours” She says, glancing down at the boat. “So stop talking and help me get this thing out past the reef before anyone catches us” She says, smiling, and Maui returns the smile as he watches her climb the mast to go back to working on opening the sail just as enthusiastically as she had been before.

**Author's Note:**

> So! here's an interesting fact. The first time I saw Moana with my mom (her first viewing, my third) one of the first things she said to me was that she saw parallels between Maui and Tui. And I thought that was kind of interesting, but as I was writing this, I kind of wanted to throw in some parallels between Maui and a certain OTHER family member of Moana's, and I wanted Moana herself to notice this. Who else encourages her to be who she truly is and ecourages her love of the sea and her ancestors, hm? 
> 
> I also threw in a line or two with hidden meanings at the beginning. Moana tossing her headdress aside and Maui tossing his hook aside weren't just for comedic or dramatic effect to show how much they missed each other. It represents what they're willing to put aside for each other's company. Moana with her chiefhood and Maui with his hook, his literal most prized posession.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
